Sorry folks, I slacked on the blog posting this weekend and spent the night on the slopes last night. Paying for it today with a very sore body and a busted up hit. I took a nice spill at full speed after hitting a few unexpected moguls. I was thinking everyone would forget about me and the blogging but that wasn't the case. I think I had over 10 messages from people asking for an update. I apologize for being a total slacker and will keep you updated this week with yet another significant weather storm.
Friday and Saturday we saw some light to moderate snowfall over the region which was nice since it didn't stick to the roads. It came down heavy for parts of Saturday but only accumulated on the "grassy" surfaces. On one the special weather statements by the NWS (National Weather Service) it stated that the snow wouldn't stick to the roads to due temperature and the salt still on the roads and that it should only accumulate on the grassy surfaces. Hell, I haven't seen grass in over a month!
Yet again the area will be dealing with another large storm but being that this is a La Nina season, we'll see a La Nina type of storm which means we'll see snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain! Expect to see some light snow move into the area after midnight tonight and accumulating an inch or two by rush hour in the morning. I doubt we'll have many issues on the roads unless we get a few surprises like we did with the last storm. Expect the snow to change to sleet in the afternoon but it should be on the light side. Temps will not get above freezing all day so the PM rush may be a bit hazardous. The sleet will continue through the evening and will then change to freezing rain after midnight tomorrow night. Temps will be in the upper 20's so we are going to have some serious ice issues come Wednesday morning. We are talking about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of icing which will cause trees/limbs to come down and even scattered power outages. You may wonder how we could possibly have freezing rain with temps in the upper 20's. Those temperatures are at the surface level, you go 5000 feet up and it's actually warmer which is why it's in liquid form. On the way down it doesn't have enough time to refreeze so once it hits any surface that is below freezing, it freezes on contact. With sleet the air is warmer higher up, let's say 10,000 feet, so it has enough time to refreeze on the way day which produces ice pellets. Nothing drives me more insane than people calling sleet hail. Hail comes in thunderstorms during the summer and sleet occurs during the winter! As the day on Wednesday progresses expect the temperature to rise changing any freezing rain over to plain rain. This may not happen until the early afternoon in the Philly suburbs so we'll have an extended period of freezing rain. Temps should top off around 40 degrees but that won't come until late afternoon or evening. Things will then cool down quickly and we could end this storm with a few snow showers overnight into Thursday. So as you can see this is going to be a prolonged storm that will give us all a lot of trouble.
Not sure what schools will do about tomorrow, my gut tells me they won't even mess with a snow/sleet mix and will close for the day. As for Wednesday, expect schools to be closed!
So for right now we have a Winter Storm Watch out and I'm sort of surprised that it hasn't gone to a Warning yet being that we are within 12 hours or less from this storm being on top of us. I know it's a 1-2 punch with the heaviest coming tomorrow night but I thought by now we'd see a Warning up.
I'll be putting out another blog this evening around 8pm as I'll be sitting on the couch popping Advil and drinking beers nursing my injuries.
Thanks for reading!
Gman the injured Weatherman
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
70 and Sunny for Saturday.......
in Orlando Florida that is. We can only wish for that weather right now but I guess we'll just have to grin and bear the remaining two months that remain of this winter season. And let me tell you, February is looking to be even worse than January if you can believe that. In a normal winter season February is the snowiest of the months but does prove to be warmer than January so that's a good sign. Before we know it we'll be complaining about how hot it is.
How about that storm last night? Not too often you see actual bolts of lightning during a snowstorm, just goes to show how much energy was wrapped up in it all. Fort the most part last night's storm dropped between 11-13 inches throughout Montgomery County. Aside from the "surprise" part one of yesterday's mornings storm, my totals were pretty much in range with what I predicted. It's better to be low in your numbers than be too high, people seem to get on you more when you predict a foot and end up with flurries. The majority of us ended up with a snow day and pretty much every kid out there was off today. Somehow our daycare operated on a two hour delay but we kept the kids home anyway.
So now that the monster storm is out of the way, here is what you can expect the next 5 days. Expect temps to be below average but still warm compared to last week. We should be around the low to mid 30's with a shot of cold air coming in mid next week. As for precip, expect some light snow tomorrow afternoon that will leave a coating in most spots. Some places may see up to an inch but no more than that. Expect the same thing for Saturday. We are looking at yet another sizable storm for Tuesday night into Wednesday and this time we are looking at all snow for this one. It's got the potential to be significant but I highly doubt we'll see another storm like the one we just had for a long time!!
I leave you with these very important and wise words that I'm sure I'll be hearing again tonight.
"Ah yeah, T shirt time!"
Gman the Weatherman
How about that storm last night? Not too often you see actual bolts of lightning during a snowstorm, just goes to show how much energy was wrapped up in it all. Fort the most part last night's storm dropped between 11-13 inches throughout Montgomery County. Aside from the "surprise" part one of yesterday's mornings storm, my totals were pretty much in range with what I predicted. It's better to be low in your numbers than be too high, people seem to get on you more when you predict a foot and end up with flurries. The majority of us ended up with a snow day and pretty much every kid out there was off today. Somehow our daycare operated on a two hour delay but we kept the kids home anyway.
So now that the monster storm is out of the way, here is what you can expect the next 5 days. Expect temps to be below average but still warm compared to last week. We should be around the low to mid 30's with a shot of cold air coming in mid next week. As for precip, expect some light snow tomorrow afternoon that will leave a coating in most spots. Some places may see up to an inch but no more than that. Expect the same thing for Saturday. We are looking at yet another sizable storm for Tuesday night into Wednesday and this time we are looking at all snow for this one. It's got the potential to be significant but I highly doubt we'll see another storm like the one we just had for a long time!!
I leave you with these very important and wise words that I'm sure I'll be hearing again tonight.
"Ah yeah, T shirt time!"
Gman the Weatherman
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Holy Lighting Batman!
Good Evening Everyone!
And what an evening it will be. We are talking about snowfall rates of biblical (well maybe historical for our area) proportions in the next several hours. 3-4 inch/hr snowfall rates for a few hours is absolutely unheard of for this neck of the woods. We could end up with another 12 inches of snow with this second round of snow that is starting to come through.
I must say it is quite eerie outside right now. We went from heavy sleet for the past hour and increasing wind to virtually nothing. Then all of a sudden...................lightning!! Just an indication of what kind of roller coaster ride we are in for tonight. I anticipate the snow will start falling shortly in clips where you can't see your hand in front of your face, if you were actually outside in this madness.
If you watched the news stations today you would have seen every meteorologist talk about how this morning's 5-6 inches was virtually impossible to predict and I have to agree with them for once. Most of them are on board for another 8-12 inches of snow tonight with some serious thunderstorm activity. I thought to myself today, "Can you get struck by lighting in a snowstorm?" Sure enough you can, they are talking about some cloud to ground lightning that you normally see in the hot months of July and August. Not something you'll see often in your lifetime so grab a beer and head for your deck dressed in appropriate layers of course.
Look for things to die down around 1 or 2am and then it will quickly exit the coast shortly after that. Schools WILL be closed tomorrow, there is no way the plows will get ahead of this storm as they won't dare to even touch the roads until this is all said and done. The reason I say that is they will have zero visibility and will end up plowing your neighbors yard instead of the road.
As for the snow blowers, they may or may not come in handy. I was out there today with mine and all it did was push the snow due to how compact it was. And forget about snow blowing where someone has walked or a car has driven over, virtually impossible!! I did what I could and shoveled the rest and boy was it heavy, my back was going through some lovely spasms after getting done with that. By the way, anyone read the paper today? I would have but my neighbor took the snow blower to it and the snow blower won. He still had the courtesy to put the remaining pieces of it on my porch.
Thanks for reading and get your arse outside and enjoy this snow........just don't get struck by lightning!!
Gman the Weatherman
And what an evening it will be. We are talking about snowfall rates of biblical (well maybe historical for our area) proportions in the next several hours. 3-4 inch/hr snowfall rates for a few hours is absolutely unheard of for this neck of the woods. We could end up with another 12 inches of snow with this second round of snow that is starting to come through.
I must say it is quite eerie outside right now. We went from heavy sleet for the past hour and increasing wind to virtually nothing. Then all of a sudden...................lightning!! Just an indication of what kind of roller coaster ride we are in for tonight. I anticipate the snow will start falling shortly in clips where you can't see your hand in front of your face, if you were actually outside in this madness.
If you watched the news stations today you would have seen every meteorologist talk about how this morning's 5-6 inches was virtually impossible to predict and I have to agree with them for once. Most of them are on board for another 8-12 inches of snow tonight with some serious thunderstorm activity. I thought to myself today, "Can you get struck by lighting in a snowstorm?" Sure enough you can, they are talking about some cloud to ground lightning that you normally see in the hot months of July and August. Not something you'll see often in your lifetime so grab a beer and head for your deck dressed in appropriate layers of course.
Look for things to die down around 1 or 2am and then it will quickly exit the coast shortly after that. Schools WILL be closed tomorrow, there is no way the plows will get ahead of this storm as they won't dare to even touch the roads until this is all said and done. The reason I say that is they will have zero visibility and will end up plowing your neighbors yard instead of the road.
As for the snow blowers, they may or may not come in handy. I was out there today with mine and all it did was push the snow due to how compact it was. And forget about snow blowing where someone has walked or a car has driven over, virtually impossible!! I did what I could and shoveled the rest and boy was it heavy, my back was going through some lovely spasms after getting done with that. By the way, anyone read the paper today? I would have but my neighbor took the snow blower to it and the snow blower won. He still had the courtesy to put the remaining pieces of it on my porch.
Thanks for reading and get your arse outside and enjoy this snow........just don't get struck by lightning!!
Gman the Weatherman
Bonus Snow!!
Good Morning Everyone!
I think we were all a bit surprised to wake up this morning and see how hard it was snowing outside. With every storm there are always unseen factors and this is one of them, bonus snow. Being that there is 2 inches on the ground already here in Souderton and still snowing at a good clip, expect another inch or so and things will lighten up or even stop for a period. We still have yet to see the real storm here so this is just a preview of things to come.............times 10!
Thanks for reading!
Gman the Weatherman
I think we were all a bit surprised to wake up this morning and see how hard it was snowing outside. With every storm there are always unseen factors and this is one of them, bonus snow. Being that there is 2 inches on the ground already here in Souderton and still snowing at a good clip, expect another inch or so and things will lighten up or even stop for a period. We still have yet to see the real storm here so this is just a preview of things to come.............times 10!
Thanks for reading!
Gman the Weatherman
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Things Remain Unchanged
Good Evening!
We are within 24 hours of the juicy part of this storm that is slowing creeping up the Mid Atlantic seaboard. Don't expect to wake up tomorrow and see much going on outside, the lighter part of this storm will occur throughout the day tomorrow and the fun begins later in the evening. Throughout the day you'll see mostly light snow or sleet with a few dry slots in between. You'll have some steadier light snow or sleet starting around 4 or 5 o'clock so the drive home from work tomorrow shouldn't be an issue as the roads should just remain wet..........except for those idiots that don't know how to drive!! After 7pm you want to do your best to stay off the roads as conditions will deteriorate quickly. At 10pm you'll want to watch this from your window as this thing will really be cranking! Expect to see thunder snow in spots and this is where you'll see 2" an hour of snow with some big arse flakes! I know I'll be at the window looking like a kid searching for Santa on Christmas Eve.
So we have two outstanding questions to answer, will school/work be canceled and have the snow totals changed?
As of right now it looks like the storm will be moving away from the Philly metro area around 4am. The farther west and south you are from the Philly the quicker the storm will be ending. This should give plows a good amount of time to get out there and plow but with the forecast still calling for amounts averaging from 6-12 inches, that will take the plows a bit more time to remove. Therefore I'm making an early call and saying all schools north and west Philly (Lansdale, Doylestown, Quakertown, KOP, Willow Grove) will be CLOSED on Thursday. As for work, that depends on how much your boss values your safety! I'm guessing it will be a late start for everyone Thursday as we'll be digging out and this snow will not be light so even the snow blowers will be working extra hard to remove it.
As for totals I'm going to stick with what I originally posted and posted that below. Unless things change with the model runs tomorrow morning I think we'll all see and average of 6 inches, good portion of Montco seeing at least 8 inches, and the areas who get thunder snow could be looking at a foot.
South and East of Philly: 3-6 inches
Phillly Metro: 4-8 inches
N&W of Philly: 7-12 inches
Harrisburg/Lancaster: 2-5 inches
After looking at Channel 6 and Fox 29, they are forecasting on average 5-10 inches along the I-95 corridor so I think I'm in range for what they are saying.
I'll be putting out another blog around noon tomorrow so check back then.
Thanks for reading!
Gman the Weatherman
We are within 24 hours of the juicy part of this storm that is slowing creeping up the Mid Atlantic seaboard. Don't expect to wake up tomorrow and see much going on outside, the lighter part of this storm will occur throughout the day tomorrow and the fun begins later in the evening. Throughout the day you'll see mostly light snow or sleet with a few dry slots in between. You'll have some steadier light snow or sleet starting around 4 or 5 o'clock so the drive home from work tomorrow shouldn't be an issue as the roads should just remain wet..........except for those idiots that don't know how to drive!! After 7pm you want to do your best to stay off the roads as conditions will deteriorate quickly. At 10pm you'll want to watch this from your window as this thing will really be cranking! Expect to see thunder snow in spots and this is where you'll see 2" an hour of snow with some big arse flakes! I know I'll be at the window looking like a kid searching for Santa on Christmas Eve.
So we have two outstanding questions to answer, will school/work be canceled and have the snow totals changed?
As of right now it looks like the storm will be moving away from the Philly metro area around 4am. The farther west and south you are from the Philly the quicker the storm will be ending. This should give plows a good amount of time to get out there and plow but with the forecast still calling for amounts averaging from 6-12 inches, that will take the plows a bit more time to remove. Therefore I'm making an early call and saying all schools north and west Philly (Lansdale, Doylestown, Quakertown, KOP, Willow Grove) will be CLOSED on Thursday. As for work, that depends on how much your boss values your safety! I'm guessing it will be a late start for everyone Thursday as we'll be digging out and this snow will not be light so even the snow blowers will be working extra hard to remove it.
As for totals I'm going to stick with what I originally posted and posted that below. Unless things change with the model runs tomorrow morning I think we'll all see and average of 6 inches, good portion of Montco seeing at least 8 inches, and the areas who get thunder snow could be looking at a foot.
South and East of Philly: 3-6 inches
Phillly Metro: 4-8 inches
N&W of Philly: 7-12 inches
Harrisburg/Lancaster: 2-5 inches
After looking at Channel 6 and Fox 29, they are forecasting on average 5-10 inches along the I-95 corridor so I think I'm in range for what they are saying.
I'll be putting out another blog around noon tomorrow so check back then.
Thanks for reading!
Gman the Weatherman
Get the snowblowers out and gassed up!!
If you like snow you will love this forecast! At this hour the south is getting hammered with rain and even thunderstorms with some isolated threats of tornadoes in Florida. All of that energy will be skirting up the coast, bombing out over Cape Hatteras, and then affecting the Mid Atlantic region starting on Wednesday morning.
Expect to see some light snow/mix/rain on Wednesday morning depending upon your location. This will be coming up from the south so Delaware and South Jersey will see some precip by daybreak. It will start off as snow or a mix in those areas and most likely change to all rain for a good portion of the day. Philadelphia metro will most likely see a mix through some of the morning and then change to rain as well. The suburbs, north and west of Philly, will most likely not see any rain from this system and will see snow or a snow/sleet mix. It will be on the light side throughout the day so don't expect to see any schools closed tomorrow. If anything there will be an early dismissal north and west of the city.
The meat of this storm will be coming around the 5 o'clock rush hour and will only get heavier from there. Expect a rough commute home if you are in the office all day and plan on the office being closed or opening up late on Thursday morning depending upon location again. The storm will explode off the coast tomorrow night and we could see snowfall rates ranging from 1-2 inches an hour in spots. If you are in a heavy band putting down thunder snow, expect to be in the 2 inch an hour range. Thursday morning will be a morning of clean up and this isn't like the past storms with light and fluffy snow, we are talking heavy wet snow so if you have a bad back, like me, bend with your legs!!!
So here is my guess at how much snow we are looking at from tomorrow morning through early Thursday morning.
South and East of Philly: 3-6 inches
Phillly Metro: 4-8 inches
N&W of Philly: 7-12 inches
Lancaster: 2-5 inches
The chances of schools being closed on Thursday is very high so if you have kids plan on them being home on Thursday and possibly home early tomorrow.
We still have a few more model runs to look at so these totals could go up some. I do not see these numbers coming down at all and there will be a few areas that will have over a foot from this.
I hope to put out another blog this evening and will be checking the other weather outlets to see what everyone is saying.
Thanks for reading,
Gman the Weatherman!
Expect to see some light snow/mix/rain on Wednesday morning depending upon your location. This will be coming up from the south so Delaware and South Jersey will see some precip by daybreak. It will start off as snow or a mix in those areas and most likely change to all rain for a good portion of the day. Philadelphia metro will most likely see a mix through some of the morning and then change to rain as well. The suburbs, north and west of Philly, will most likely not see any rain from this system and will see snow or a snow/sleet mix. It will be on the light side throughout the day so don't expect to see any schools closed tomorrow. If anything there will be an early dismissal north and west of the city.
The meat of this storm will be coming around the 5 o'clock rush hour and will only get heavier from there. Expect a rough commute home if you are in the office all day and plan on the office being closed or opening up late on Thursday morning depending upon location again. The storm will explode off the coast tomorrow night and we could see snowfall rates ranging from 1-2 inches an hour in spots. If you are in a heavy band putting down thunder snow, expect to be in the 2 inch an hour range. Thursday morning will be a morning of clean up and this isn't like the past storms with light and fluffy snow, we are talking heavy wet snow so if you have a bad back, like me, bend with your legs!!!
So here is my guess at how much snow we are looking at from tomorrow morning through early Thursday morning.
South and East of Philly: 3-6 inches
Phillly Metro: 4-8 inches
N&W of Philly: 7-12 inches
Lancaster: 2-5 inches
The chances of schools being closed on Thursday is very high so if you have kids plan on them being home on Thursday and possibly home early tomorrow.
We still have a few more model runs to look at so these totals could go up some. I do not see these numbers coming down at all and there will be a few areas that will have over a foot from this.
I hope to put out another blog this evening and will be checking the other weather outlets to see what everyone is saying.
Thanks for reading,
Gman the Weatherman!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Gman the Weatherman
Alright folks, you know I love the weather and all forms of it so I've decided to start blogging. Most blogs will stem from severe weather on the horizon, I will not be blogging when it's 75 and sunny. Though I desire that weather right now its just not exciting if you are a weather nerd like me.
Some background on my love for weather and where it all stemmed from. I grew up watching the Weather Channel since I was in the 6th grade. Everyday after school you would find me plopped in front of the tv watching the Weather Channel for hours on end. Then comes along Rob Guarino who started forecasting for Fox 29. That was the turning point in my life where I went from looking at weather forecasts that contained nothing more than pictures and hi and low temps to reading weather maps, models, and using acronyms that would you with the deer in headlights look.
So why start blogging now? Well, after many years of being the family forecaster a dear old friend of mine suggested that I start blogging. Instantly I knew she was onto something so thank you Shannon!! I love to talk about weather and everyone comes to me for the forecast so why not just put it out there for everyone to see and that is what I'm doing.
I have two favorite seasons, summer and winter. Why you ask? Those are the two seasons we see the most severe whether in the Philly metro area. The heat of summer brews instability in the air which leads to severe weather. Unlike Kansas, Kentucky, and other states along tornado alley, we just get a lot of lighting, thunder, and wind. Thanks or no thanks to the Appalachian Mts, our chances of a tornado aren't very good. One day though I will travel to the mid west and see a tornado before I die, it's on my bucket list! And then there is winter and a little thing we call a Nor'easter!! From a forecasting standpoint they are a royal pain in the ass. 50 miles here or there in the movement of the low could mean snow, rain, sleet, or nothing but a few passing flurries. They are also the most fun to watch since they draw off moisture from the Atlantic and really build these storms into an equivalent of a cat 1 or 2 hurricane.
So feel free to follow the blog and I'll do what I can to blog daily. If a storm is on the horizon except me to be blogging several times throughout the day.
Thanks,
Gman the Weatherman
Some background on my love for weather and where it all stemmed from. I grew up watching the Weather Channel since I was in the 6th grade. Everyday after school you would find me plopped in front of the tv watching the Weather Channel for hours on end. Then comes along Rob Guarino who started forecasting for Fox 29. That was the turning point in my life where I went from looking at weather forecasts that contained nothing more than pictures and hi and low temps to reading weather maps, models, and using acronyms that would you with the deer in headlights look.
So why start blogging now? Well, after many years of being the family forecaster a dear old friend of mine suggested that I start blogging. Instantly I knew she was onto something so thank you Shannon!! I love to talk about weather and everyone comes to me for the forecast so why not just put it out there for everyone to see and that is what I'm doing.
I have two favorite seasons, summer and winter. Why you ask? Those are the two seasons we see the most severe whether in the Philly metro area. The heat of summer brews instability in the air which leads to severe weather. Unlike Kansas, Kentucky, and other states along tornado alley, we just get a lot of lighting, thunder, and wind. Thanks or no thanks to the Appalachian Mts, our chances of a tornado aren't very good. One day though I will travel to the mid west and see a tornado before I die, it's on my bucket list! And then there is winter and a little thing we call a Nor'easter!! From a forecasting standpoint they are a royal pain in the ass. 50 miles here or there in the movement of the low could mean snow, rain, sleet, or nothing but a few passing flurries. They are also the most fun to watch since they draw off moisture from the Atlantic and really build these storms into an equivalent of a cat 1 or 2 hurricane.
So feel free to follow the blog and I'll do what I can to blog daily. If a storm is on the horizon except me to be blogging several times throughout the day.
Thanks,
Gman the Weatherman
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